Bed-settees and the like



May 9, 1967 o. WIBERG BED-SETTEES AND THE LIKE ,3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Nov. 23, 1965 INVENTOR Ole Wiber'g ma 3, 1%? \MBERG 3,317,930

BED-SETTEES AND THE} LIKE Filed Nov. 25, 1965 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 I INVENTOR Wiber ay 9, 1967 o. WIBERG 3,317,930

- BEDSETTEES AND THE LIKE Filed Nov. 25, 1965 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTOR Ole Wiberg United States Patent 3,317,930 BED-SETTEES AND THE LIKE Ole Wiberg, Danisch Nienhof uber Kiel, Germany Filed Nov. 23, 1965, Ser. No. 509,277 Claims priority, application Denmark, Nov. 23, 1964, 5,766, 5,767 3 Claims. (Cl. -42) The invention relates to convertible bed-settees, bedchairs and the like convertible furniture (hereinafter referred to as bed-settees).

More specifically the invention relates to bed-settee constructions comprising seat and back sections hinged together and forming adjacent sections of the bed, and a third section connected to the seat in such a way that in the settee position it is placed beneath the seat and in the bed position it extends from the free edge of the seat.

An object of the invention is to provide a couch of larger size than the sum of the areas of the back, the seat and the third section.

Another object of the invention is to provide a bedsettee in which the back and the seat in the settee position is held in a fixed angular position.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a bed-settee in which the back, when swung from the settee position to the bed position, is still held within the reverse side of the convertible furniture in the settee position.

Other objects will appear from the following specification, the drawings and the claims.

According to the invention a bolster or wedgeformed cushion is provided in front of the free lower part of the back, the thick end of the cushion pointing downwards and the thin edge of the cushion being hingedly connected to the front of the back through a fabric hinge along a horizontal line above the centre line of the back.

The free lower part of the front of the back and the reverse side of the cushion are preferably plane, whereas the front of the cushion is convex and the front of the back above the fabric hinge is correspondingly concave.

The arrangement of the cushion may be used on all convertible bed-settees where the front of the back is facing upwards when in the bed position.

Preferably it is used by bed-settees where according to the invention the back and the seat hinged together are locked in a predetermined angular position through the third section placed beneath the seat.

In one embodiment of the invention the third section is foldably arranged beneath the seat.

In another embodiment of the invention the third section is slidably arranged beneath the seat.

'Preferred embodiments of the invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings in which FIGURE 1 is a side elevational view of a bed-settee in the settee position, one of the arm rests being omitted for clarity of illustration.

FIGURE 2 is a view similar to FIG. '1, showing the bed-settee in its bed position.

FIGURE 3 is a side elevational view of a modified bed-settee provided with locking mechanism which is releasable by movement of the foot section, the bedsettee being shown in its settee position with one of the arm rests omitted.

FIGURE 4 is a view similar to FIG. 3 showing the bed-settee in an intermediate position.

FIGURE 5 shows the bed-settee of FIGS. 3 and 4 in its bed position.

FIGURE 6 is an enlarged fragmentary side eleva- 3 ,3 17,93 0 Patented May 9, 1967 tional view of the latch mechanism of the bed-settee shown in FIGS. -3 through 5.

FIGURE 7 is a front elevational view of the structure shown in FIG. 6.

FIGURE 8 is .a side elevational view similar to FIGS. 3, 4 and 5 showing a modified form of bed-settee in which the foot section is slidably instead of pivotally arranged for movement between its extended and retracted positions.

FIGURE 9 is an enlarged fragmentary side view of the locking mechanism of FIG. 8.

The bed-settee has -a base 1 with rear legs 2 and front legs 3 and side sections or armrests 4. It further has a seat or seat section '5 and a back or back section 6.

A cushion 7 rests upon the seat '5 when the bed-settee is in the settee position and which is placed upon the third section or foot section in the bed position.

The cushion 7 is shown hinged to the seat by means of a fabric hinge 8.

To the underside of the seat 5, adjacent to its forward edge is a third section or foot section hingedly connected to the seat by means of a hinge 9. This section is of frame construction, and pivoted legs 11 are provided at its free end.

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2 the lower part of the front 12 of the main back 6 section is covered by an auxiliary back section such as a bolster or a cushion 13, the thick end of which is free whereas the thin edge is connected by a fabric hinge 14 to the main portion of the back 6 somewhat above the centre line of the back. Above thefabric hinge 14 the contour 15 of the front of the back is complementary in shape to the contour of the front 16 of the cushion 1 3 so that, when the cushion 13 is swung about the fabric hinge 14 from the position of FIG. 1 to the position of FIG. 2, the front of the cushion 13 will be received in the complementary recess in the upper part of the back. In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 the cushion 13 is shaped so that its back reverse 17 will be flush and coplanar with the front part 12 of the back 6 when in the bed position.

Thus when in the settee position, FIG. 1, the cushion 13 offers an excellent support for the lumbar region, whereas in the bed position, FIG. 2, it offers a plane couch which is moreover of larger size than would be provided for by the back 6 alone.

It is apparent that all upholstered parts of the bedsettee which are in the settee position may be provided with covers of upholstery type fabric usually used for living room furniture, whereas all upholstered parts visible in the bed position may be covered with bedding type fabric such as madras ticking.

The complementary shapes of the cushion 13 and the recess 15 may be modified to provide a slightly inclined head, if desired.

Referring to FIGS. 3*9 the bed-settee has a back support 21 which extends transversely between the side sections or armrests 4. This support is further connected to the base by means of angle brackets 22 on each of the sides of the back 6 to which members 23 each in the form of a flat bar is fastened. The flat bar members 23 are further pivotally connected to the seat 5 by means of pins 24.

Along each of the armrests 4 is mounted a fixed horizontal rail 25, provided with upwardly projecting arcuate stops 26 and 27.

Each bar member 23 is provided with a slide shoe or pin 28, resting upon the rail 25 and slidable therealong between the two stops 26 and 27.

A lower guide pin 29 is fixed to each bar member 23, extending therefrom in such a way as to abut slidably 3 against the underside of the rail 25. On each of the sides of the seat 5 a stop 30 is mounted so that the front edge of the bar member 23 rests against the stop 30 when the back and the seat are in the settee position shown in FIG. 3.

Beneath the seat 5 and adjacent to its forward edge the third or foot section with pivotal legs 11 is hingedly connected by pins 9.

When the section 10 is folded up beneath the seat 5, i.e. in the retracted position shown in FIGS. 3, 4- and 6 where the bar members 23 rest against the stop 30, a shoe 31, fixed upon the free end of the section 10, abuts against the slide shoe or pin 28, thus locking the back 6 and the seat 5 in the generally mutually perpendicular settee position.

When the bed-settee is converted from the settee position of FIG. 3 to the bed position of FIG. 5, the front edge of the seat is lifted a little and then pulled forwards, i.e. to the right in FIG. 3. When the slide shoe 28 reaches the stop 27, the lower guide pin 29 is free to sweep around the stop 27, as shown in FIG. 6, and the back is swung to the position of FIG. 4. The uppermost back edge of the back rests upon a support member 32. The foot section 10 is then pivoted counterclockwise about the hinge pins 9 as viewed in FIGS. 4 and 6. As the shoe 31 is thereby released from abutting against the upper guide pin 28, the locking between the back and the seat is also released. Accordingly the seat can be pivoted about the pins 24. When the section 10 is folded out with the pivoted legs 11 extending downwardly from beneath the free end of the foot section 10 and the seat 6 is pivoted about the pins 24 to be flush with the horizontal back 6, the bed assumes the position shown in FIG. 5.

In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 8 and 9 the foot third section 10 is still placed beneath the seat 5 in the settee position, but instead of being foldable is slidably arranged.

The section 10 is of frame construction and is provided with pivoted legs 11.

On each side of the inner end of the foot section 10 an outwardly extending pin 33 is provided. Each pin 33 is longitudinally slidable in a slot notch 34 in a fixed guide rail 35.

When the foot section 10 is slid in beneath the seat 5, its ends will rest against the upper guide pins 28 as shown in FIG. 9, and as in FIG. 6, lock the back 6 and the seat 5 in generally mutually perpendicular relationship.

When the bed-settee has been converted into the bed position, the back may, if desired, be raised to an inclined position as shown in FIG. 8.

What I claim is:

1. In a bed-settee of the type comprising: a back section; a seat section; and a foot section, said sections being movable relative to each other between a settee position wherein said back section is generally upright, said seat section is generally horizontal, and said foot section is retracted beneath said seat section and a bed position wherein said seat, back and foot sections are generally coplanar, the improvement which comprises the provision of a back section comprising a main portion and an auxiliary portion, said auxiliary portion being connected to said main portion by fabric hinge means for pivotal movement about a horizontal axis located nearer to the upper end of said back portion than to the lower end thereof when said back portion is in said upright position, said two portions having flat surfaces in engagement with. each other when said back section is in said upright position, said auxiliary portion being of a thickness which increases proceeding away from said horizontal axis, said main portion having a recess formed therein of configuration complementary to said auxiliary portion, said auxiliary portion being received in said recess when said sections are in said bed position with said flat surfaces effectively horizontal and coplanar.

2. The improvement according to claim 1, wherein said auxiliary portion extends outwardly beyond said main portion when said sections are in said bed position to provide a bed of greater length than the combined lengths of said sections.

3. A bed-settee of the class described, comprising: a base; a plurality of legs connected to said base for the support thereof; a pair of arm rest members connected to said base at opposite sides thereof; a pair of horizontal guide rail members connected to said base and extending forwardly and rearwardly between said arm rest members; a back section movable between a generally upright position and a horizontal position; guide means connecting the lower portion of said back section when in said upright position for forward sliding movement longitudinally of said guide rail members to bring said back section from said upright position into said horizontal position; a seat section pivotally connected to said back section in proximity to said guide means; a foot section movable between a retracted position wherein it is disposed beneath said seat section and an extended position wherein it extends forwardly beyond said seat section; releasable locking means retaining said back sections and seat sections in generally mutually perpendicular relationship; and means carried by said foot section and included in said locking means for retaining said locking means locked when said foot section is in said retracted position and releasing said locking means when said foot section is moved toward said extended position for permitting said back and seat sections to be moved from said perpendicular relationship into a horizontal coplanar relationship with each other and with said foot section.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,223,259 11/1940 Mayo et a1 544 2,291,391 7/ 1942 Krakaner 544 2,53 5,448 12/1950 Nowell 537 X 2,602,169 7/1952 McDaniel 544 2,769,987 11/1956 Thal 537 2,931,052 4/1960 Todorovic 529 3,201,805 8/1965 Smith 518 FOREIGN PATENTS 546,541 4/ 1956 Belgium.

FRANK B. SHERRY, Primary Examiner.

CASMIR A. NUNBERG, Examiner, 

1. IN A BED-SETTEE OF THE TYPE COMPRISING: A BACK SECTION; A SEAT SECTION; AND A FOOT SECTION, SAID SECTIONS BEING MOVABLE RELATIVE TO EACH OTHER BETWEEN A SETTEE POSITION WHEREIN SAID BACK SECTION IS GENERALLY UPRIGHT, SAID SEAT SECTION IS GENERALLY HORIZONTAL, AND SAID FOOT SECTION IS RETRACTED BENEATH SAID SEAT SECTION AND A BED POSITION WHEREIN SAID SEAT, BACK AND FOOT SECTIONS ARE GENERALLY COPLANAR, THE IMPROVEMENT WHICH COMPRISES THE PROVISION OF A BACK SECTION COMPRISING A MAIN PORTION AND AN AUXILIARY PORTION, SAID AUXILIARY PORTION BEING CONNECTED TO SAID MAIN PORTION BY FABRIC HINGE MEANS FOR PIVOTAL MOVEMENT ABOUT A HORIZONTAL AXIS LOCATED NEARER TO THE UPPER END OF SAID BACK PORTION THAN TO THE LOWER END THEREOF WHEN SAID BACK PORTION IS IN SAID UPRIGHT POSITION, SAID TWO PORTIONS HAVING FLAT SURFACES IN ENGAGEMENT WITH EACH OTHER WHEN SAID BACK SECTION IS IN SAID UPRIGHT POSITION, SAID AUXILIARY PORTION BEING OF A THICKNESS WHICH INCREASES PROCEEDING AWAY FROM SAID HORIZONTAL AXIS, SAID MAIN PORTION HAVING A RECESS FORMED THEREIN OF CONFIGURATION COMPLEMENTARY TO SAID AUXILIARY PORTION, SAID AUXILIARY PORTION BEING RECEIVED IN SAID RECESS WHEN SAID SECTIONS ARE IN SAID BED POSITION WITH SAID FLAT SURFACES EFFECTIVELY HORIZONTAL AND COPLANAR. 